Claremont Creek gets Harvard backing

Oakland, California-based venture capital group Claremont Creek Ventures has raised $125 million for its inaugural fund, Claremont Creek Ventures LP.

Nat Goldhaber, managing director, Claremont Creek Ventures

Nat Goldhaber, a US vice presidential candidate on the Natural Law ticket in 2000, is among the co-founders and managing directors at Claremont, being joined by Novus Ventures vet Randy Hawks and John Steuart, who has previously served at venture group Alafi Capital.

In addition to an unsuccessful run for vice president of the United States (the John Hagelin/Goldhaber ticket only received 0.08 percent of the vote in 2000), Goldhaber is perhaps best known as the founder of Cybergold, which was eventually sold to online marketing group Mypoints Inc. for $157 million in 2000.

According to SEC documents, Claremont Creek was able to corral 19 investors for the inaugural fund, which hit its cap of $125 million. The firm was able to attract some notable backers, including Harvard Management, the Bell Atlantic Master Trust and the Regents of the University of California.

There was no placement agent listed in the SEC documents.

Claremont Creek is targeting early stage deals in technology businesses. Specifically, the firm is pursuing investments in software applications for mobile business functions, IT related to security and homeland defense, IT applied to healthcare, and clean technology and alternative energy.

The firm’s Web site identifies the current and past investments of its partners, and lists Ask Jeeves web portal, genomics outfit Qiagen and intellectual property management firm Intertrust, as part of the group’s collective track record.

Claremont declined comment for the story.